Credit Card Payoff — Avalanche vs Snowball
The avalanche method pays the highest-interest card first and usually saves the most money. The snowball method clears the smallest balance first for psychological wins. On $8,000 across two cards at 22% and 18%, paying $400/month with avalanche can finish months earlier than minimum-only payments.
Avalanche vs snowball
Avalanche: sort cards by APR, put extra payments on the highest rate while paying minimums elsewhere.
Snowball: clear the smallest balance first, then roll that payment to the next card.
Minimum payments trap
Paying only the minimum on a $5,000 balance at 22% can take 15+ years and cost more in interest than the original debt. Even $50–100 extra per month changes the timeline dramatically.